It is ironic that at a time when the Roman Catholic Church and the Church of England both are in crisis, the two men at the helm of each in England, Archbishop, soon to be Cardinal, Vincent Nichols and Archbishop Justin Welby, are the strongest leaders either church has had for decades. Both comment freely on social issues and make a worthy contribution.
It is a very great pity that the C of E’s negative pre-occupation with the equality of women and gay marriage in all their manifestations and the Vatican’s tardy response to the appalling revelations of institutionalised paedophilia by its priests across the world, reduce the wider value of their interventions to a shade above zero. Both men are significantly better than the organisations they serve.